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Welsh National Opera appoints new General Director from Metropolitan Opera, New York |
Welsh National Opera has today announced the appointment of John Fisher as the company’s new General Director, following the departure of Anthony Freud to Houston Grand Opera.John is currently Director of Music Administration at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, a post he has held for the last 9 years. John Fisher was born in Scotland and started his musical career at Welsh National Opera in 1972, as Music Director of the company’s Opera for All project. This was followed by spells in the music departments of Théâtre à la Monnaie, Brussels, Netherlands Opera and La Scala, Milan, where he was Head of Music and subsequently Artistic Administrator. In 1989 he was appointed Artistic Director of Teatro alla Fenice, Venice, the first non-Italian to be appointed to that position in any of the state-funded Italian opera houses. In 1994 he joined Deutsche Grammophon as Director of Opera and Vocal Productions and Executive Producer. Tony Lewis, Chairman of WNO said, “I am delighted that we have attracted John Fisher, a man with a wonderful reputation with singers, but who also demonstrated to my Board the desire and intellect to expand his work into the full General Director’s role” John Fisher said, “I am very excited to be returning to WNO where I began my career. I look forward very much to leading this excellent company, whose standards I have always admired, and to working with Carlo Rizzi, Peter Bellingham and all the members of the WNO team." WNO Board member and distinguished singer Dennis O’Neill said, “I have known John Fisher for over thirty years as friend and colleague and am delighted to welcome him home to WNO, with whom he began his auspicious career. He is universally liked for his warmth and strength, and his prodigious talent is admired world-wide. This engagement is a major coup for WNO. John Fisher takes up his appointment at Welsh National Opera on 1st May 2006. Welsh National Opera is the national opera company for Wales. It tours extensively throughout Wales and is the largest provider of opera to regional England. WNO presents over 110 main scale opera performances annually, performing to almost 140,000 people in some of the most densely populated urban areas in Britain. In December 2004, WNO moved into its first home theatre, the new Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay. The move will allow the company a firmer base from which to tour throughout the UK and internationally. WNO receives annual revenue funding from the Arts Council of Wales and Arts Council England. |
| Welsh National OPera web site: www.wno.org.uk |
| Penny Simpson e-mail: penny.simpson@wno.org.uk |
Thursday, January 5, 2006 |
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